cats

When I say blanket fort, what do you think of? I think back to the days of my childhood where I spent hours erecting the perfect blanket fort, with chairs lined up perfectly to hold the appropriately matching colored blankets, and the tranquil interior filled with blankets, fluffy pillows, my Nancy Drew books, Etch-a-Sketch, graham crackers, the family cat and everyone with cooties was banned.

Doesn’t that sound lovely … especially during times of feeling overwhelmed??

I often get myself into situations where I feel overwhelmed. It’s totally my doing because I tend to take on way too much (all for the greater good of helping people and pets as I rationalize my 12+ hour work days, often 7 days a week). So here’s what I’ve done lately that made me want to retreat to my childhood fort:

I made a huge life move from 11 years in Virginia back home to Michigan (with all of the stress of buying a house, selling a house, packing, moving, getting unpacked and set up, while keeping the kitties calm);

Two days after the move I felt strongly that I needed to sign up for Marie Forleo’s intensive B-School before registration closed, so I dove in to her 8-week course (which I am loving, but the timing was a bit overwhelming);

Three weeks after the move I signed up for a 6-week Chemistry of Essential Oils class (which I also love);

I’ve attended two in-person essential oil trainings (with more on the horizon) which were amazing;

I’ve held 5 workshops and webinars;

I’ve maintained my animal protection, including travel, work while balancing the set up of Manifested Harmony;

I have several new classes that I really want to develop;

I’m enjoying reconnecting with my Michigan tribe and getting back into ballroom dancing;

And the list goes on and on.

While there is some work that I’m not entirely enamored with these days, everything else I absolutely adore and love which is why I keep piling it on! I am ravenous when it comes to learning and sharing what I’ve learned. But two weeks ago, I hit the blanket fort wall. I looked at my chalk wall board in my office and thought holy crap, how am I going to get through all of this?

Have you been there? I think you have. And what is our natural instinct? We start to shut down and our productivity comes to a grinding halt which makes us feel even worse. And then when we’re not checking off our to-do list because we’re overwhelmed, we then feel even more overwhelmed. Right? #viciouscycle

So what did I do? I crafted my adult version of the blanket fort which contains sparkly fairy lights, my survival kit of Young Living Essential Oils (high frequency oils like Neroli, Rose, Sacred Mountain, Stress Away), crystals (my favorite Brandberg, some Prehnite, and lots of grounding crystals like Black Tourmaline), an inspiring book, my 3 cats weaving in and out, and wine (I put oils in the wine, so that makes it healthy, right?)! And when I come out for a small break, I only watch The Hallmark Channel and The Love Boat which I recently found on Pop TV! Squuuuueeee!!!!!! Why those shows? They are all heart-felt shows/movies that leave you feeling good. I’ve also taken to building fairy houses (check out my creation below)! Taking some ME time – to do nothing that will save the world – is just what I need to re-energize.

Here’s the thing about getting overwhelmed: acknowledge it, let yourself have some downtime, do things that bring you joy, but don’t wallow too long otherwise it’s difficult to crawl back into productivity. Then just add one thing to your list for the day and overhwleovermake sure you get that done. Then the next day, add one more task. By the end of the week you’ve checked off 7 tasks and 30 by the end of the month! And most of all, give yourself permission to be gentle on yourself. Being gentle does not mean being lazy and shirking responsibilities; it means giving yourself time each day to just do something nurturing and kind for yourself.

Let’s chat about this … post me a comment of the 3 things that you do to help you cope with overwhelm and we can all learn better ways to take care of ourselves!

About Allie Phillips:

Allie is a unique combination of self-empowerment coach (Certified Law of Attraction Counselor and Life Coach), energy therapist (Usui Reiki Master-Teacher, Integrated Energy Therapy Master-Instructor, and Advanced Crystal Master), award-winning book author, attorney and nationally-recognized animal advocate. Whether it’s wanting more freedom, creativity, loving relationships, financial security, wellbeing, relaxation, or adjusting to the energy of our new world … she looks at each person and animal holistically and creates a well-being plan. She holistically combines these methods to help people gain control of their lives and to help animals live with comfort in our hectic world. It worked for her and will work for you! She particularly loves helping our animal companions because for those of us who have them grace our worlds, they are our soul mates.

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If you have a family pet or have ever worked with animals, you know that animals have feelings and can suffer physical and emotional pain just like us. Animals are also sensitive to the energies in our world. As such, they can suffer from electromagnetic stress (from electricity, computers, TVs, etc.) bombarding their energy field, as well as human emotions that may be overbearing. For pets, they often cannot escape these energies and can develop physical and emotional ailments as a result. And for homeless and shelter pets, they may suffer emotional stress from past physical or emotional trauma. If they find a loving home, the transition may be difficult or traumatic because they are so sensitive to energies (particularly in a new home). Cats, in particular, do not do well with change. Energy healing can help in these situations.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of helping a shelter kitty move to his new home. Rexy (who is now about 6-7 years old), spent 3-1/2 years being fed as an outdoor stray in a trailer part. When his feeder went to jail and then was being evicted from his trailer, some kind ladies brought him to King Street Cats (where I have volunteered since 2004) in January 2010. This could have been Rexy’s first indoor home. At first he was terrified and confused. He would scratch the glass windows as if he wanted to go outside. Eventually he informed several communicators that he was home and he did not want to leave. To him, living at a free-roaming cat orphanage was as best as it would get. And for many of the volunteers, we wondered whether he would ever be adopted because he would actively shun the attention of potential adopters.

Rexy and Jasmine (his new sister) while at King Street Cats

Fast forward 2-1/2 years where Rexy went to his new home yesterday. He has a mom, a dad and two feline siblings, Patches and Jasmine, who also came from King Street Cats (they were friends at the orphanage). His new family could not stop thinking about him and since he was friends with Patches and Jasmine, it seemed like the perfect home for all. Because Rexy had never been outside of our cat orphanage (the veterinarian visited on-site to give his annual vaccinations), we started preparing so that the energy placing him into a carrier and during the move would be calm and gentle.

The start of Rexy’s big adventure

It started with his new mom visiting him at the past few weekends to tell him he was coming home. We then made special arrangements on how to put him a carrier which was miraculously done without trauma or incident. It was like Rexy knew he was going home (even though he had never had a home). He was then handed over to me where I put him in my car, played soothing music (thank you Barry Manilow), placed crystals on his carrier (Smokey Quartz and Black Tourmaline), offered him Reiki, and sat with him for a short wait while his family arrived.

Rexy with his healing crystals

His family then took him home and I followed. My purpose was to offer energy healing to Rexy to help him adjust to being in, quite possibly, his first home. I was also there to help Patches and Jasmine. Rexy was placed in his own room (that had a glass screen door) and all three kitties initially hid. After an hour, I felt that the energy had been offered and accepted by all three cats. It was then time to let the energy do its work and let the cats adjust.

Patches and Jasmine welcoming Rexy

Within an hour, Patches was out exploring and checking out the room where Rexy was placed. Then Jasmine was exploring, too. And within 24 hours, all were at the glass window welcoming their old friend. When ready, Rexy has a beautiful crystal charm for his collar from AuraDog!

The introduction of a new pet to a home is a critical stage to be sure the pet feels secure, happy and loved in the home (and for existing pets, too). Cats are typically not good with change. And in this situation with Rexy encountering many firsts in his life (carpet, an indoor home, loving parents), I know that energy healing helped Rexy and his feline siblings feel good about the change.

Energy healing for pets is so important, and is often not considered, misunderstood or dismissed as unimportant. For those pets in shelters who may be suffering the aftermath of physical or emotional abuse/trauma, it can mean the difference between life (adoption) and death (because the pet is not showing well to be adopted). Like Rexy, energy healing can help with the transition to a new home; like Patches and Jasmine energy healing can help with the arrival of a new family member (pet, baby or spouse). For pets who are encountering physical or emotional/behavioral issues, energy healing (alongside veterinary care) can help the pet resolve the issue and stay at home rather than be surrendered to a shelter or simply tossed outside to fend for itself. For pets who have undergone surgery or a physical injury, energy healing can help speed the healing process (and can be beneficial for veterinary staff to learn).

Want to learn more about energy healing? Check out Manifested Harmony classes on energy therapy. My mission is to spread the message that energy healing is saving lives of pets. With over 10,000 pets per day being euthanized in American animal shelters, energy healing is a simply way to help. If you have a story to share about how energy healing helped an animal, please share!